New Delhi, Oct 22 (IANS) Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Thursday inaugurated and laid the foundation stone of projects worth Rs 8,941 crore related to the rejuvenation of the Yamuna in Delhi, reiterating the government’s commitment to purify the river by 2029.
Speaking at the event, HM Shah said as soon as our party’s government was formed in Delhi, Prime Minister Narendra Modi called a major meeting and placed his vision of purifying the Yamuna before the Delhi government and the Ministry of Home Affairs.
In such a short time, we have achieved more than 40 per cent success, he said.
The Union Minister said that 10 projects were inaugurated and 33 projects were initiated on Thursday.
He said that through the schemes started at a total cost of Rs 8,941 crore, several lakh litres of water will be purified and flow into the Yamuna.
Projects related to several areas of Delhi were inaugurated, and the foundation stones were also laid for the upgradation of existing STPs and the installation of new STPs, he said.
A decentralised STP pumping station has also been set up, and work has begun to connect sewer lines to households, he said.
“We are taking forward sewer rehabilitation, tapping and drainage work,” said the Home Minister, expressing confidence in purifying the Yamuna before May 2029.
On this occasion, Delhi Lieutenant Governor T.S. Sandhu and Chief Minister Rekha Gupta, along with several other dignitaries, were present.
The Union Home Minister said that some political parties only indulge in the politics of excuses.
Taking aim at the Aam Aadmi Party-led previous government, HM Shah said, “Previous governments in Delhi used to make excuses that they did not get any help. He said that we have answers to every claim of theirs, but those answers will be given to them after their government in Punjab goes.”
“The previous government in Delhi did nothing except seize power in the name of protests and indulge in corruption. They played politics in the name of garbage mountains, but our government has worked to bring those garbage mountains down. In two years, gardens will come up in place of these garbage mountains,” he said.
The Union Home Minister said that the Rekha Gupta government in Delhi, with the help of PM Modi’s government at the Centre, has cleared 2.17 crore metric tonnes of garbage and freed 100 acres of land from waste.
The garbage mountains at Okhla and Bhalswa have been reduced by 30 to 40 metres; the one at Ghazipur has come down by 10 to 15 metres, he said.
The Union Minister said that the previous government did no work for the purification of the Yamuna.
“Our government has today carried out world-class works such as Asita East, Bansera and Vasudev Ghat at Sarai Kale Khan and ITO. We have prepared a three-year action plan to provide sewerage connections to every household in Delhi so that dirty water can be drained out, and we will also ensure that pure drinking water reaches every home,” he said.
